The Fakers contest

[mickey]

LA Lakers at Houston

It's no accident the Lakers are the best road team in the NBA at 31-13 (24-19 ATS) and they are 19-10 ATS off a road conquest.


Houston is heinous 2-14 ATS revenging a loss where opponent scored 100 or more points and 8-18 against the number after playing as underdog. L.A. is now 9-3-1 ATS in conference semi-finals and 8-3 UNDER is last 11 road games.

Ming is now out of the playoffs and the spread moved to +8. Either way the Rockets are 2-9 ATS when the purple-clad Lakers visit.

The Lakers’ path to the Western Conference finals just got much clearer, as the NBA’s biggest tree fell. And not in a forest, either, where nobody could hear. Yao Ming’s fall was heard loud and clear throughout the league.



The Rockets center was diagnosed with a broken left foot Saturday, and he is done for the playoffs --- which might only be two more games in what amounts to a huge break for Kobe Bryant and Co.


Even before Yao’s injury, the Lakers had gone 6-1 SU and ATS this season against the Rockets, including Friday’s 108-94 rout as a 1’-point road chalk. In fact, Los Angeles is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 battles with the Rockets and has been even more impressive in Houston, going 9-2 ATS on its last 11 trips to the Toyota Center.
Plus, the Lake Show has gone 9-3-1 ATS in its last 13 second-round playoff games.

On the other side of the ledger, the Rockets are on ATS purges of 7-17 catching points at home, 4-11 against the Pacific Division and 2-6 coming off a double-digit home loss.

The Lakers need to take care of business now

The L.A. Lakers could very easily be the most talented team in the NBA, but they are not always 100% focused on any given night, and are known to allow upsets from weaker teams on a regular basis. Coach Phil Jackson will have to motivate his players well for tonight’s game, since even without Yao, the Rockets will continue to fight, and the Lakers will need to play at full strength, in order to avoid returning home to Los Angeles with the series tied at 2-2. Kobe Bryant is averaging 31.6 points and 6.6 rebounds against the Rockets, but he had to earn all of that the hard way, while being guarded by one of the top perimeter defenders in the league, Shane Battier. Bryant will surely love to get rid of Battier and end this series as soon as possible, and he is expected to lead his teammates into another win.

Betting verdict

Even without Yao, the Rockets will not give up easily, but the Lakers simply have too much talent.

THE PLAY: LA LAKERS (I see that Bookmaker.com/?cmpid=4437" target="_blank">Bookmaker still has the spread at 6,ya better jump on this Mallers!!)